IIA. Related Applications
There are no applications related hereto heretofore filed in this or in any foreign country.
IIB. Field of Invention
My invention relates generally to vehicular equipment used for road maintenance and road repair and more particularly to a towable utility trailer having traffic direction devices, a barrier protected work area, storage areas, and force attenuating devices.
IIC. Background and Description of Prior Art
Road maintenance is generally divided into categories of reconstruction and repair. Reconstruction is larger in scale and characterized by closure of the road to vehicular traffic for the period of reconstruction. Road repair is smaller in scale and vehicular traffic continues, but is detoured around the repair site by traffic markers and signage. A common example of road repair is the patching of potholes.
Road repair in general, and particularly pothole patching is dangerous because the operations take place on a normally freely travelable roadway with vehicular traffic moving thereabout which poses risks to road workers who might be struck by vehicles and to motorists who might strike road repair equipment with their vehicles. Because of the danger, the safety of road workers and of motorists is a primary concern of road repair operations. Various laws regulate the matter and State and Federal agencies have provided regulations establishing proper methods of warning motorists of road repair, directing traffic and protecting workers.
Repair of potholes presents particular problems because worker protection and traffic warning methods and apparatus for these operations must be portable and must not make small scale repairs inefficient or uneconomical.
Road repair operations have long used highly visible cones, signage, and traffic directional indicators to warn approaching motorists of and detour traffic around work sites. More recently, regulations have required road workers to wear brightly colored reflective vests as safety devices. However, cones, warning lights, signs and vests do not physically protect workers from vehicles, nor do they prevent workers from inadvertently moving into the path of vehicles properly passing adjacent to a work site.
Current safety practices do not eliminate the risk to workers because the practices are dependent upon the vigilance of both workers and motorists and unfortunately human frailties and distractions occasionally lead to lack of vigilance or periods of inattentiveness which may lead to catastrophic accidents.
The repair of potholes also requires extensive labor, equipment and supplies. Commonly a crew of 5 to 7 workers is used to repair potholes. Vehicular traffic is detoured around the repair site with traffic directing devices and directional and warning signs. The site to be repaired is surveyed and marked. At least one repair vehicle is positioned rearwardly of the work site to protect workers from approaching traffic while one or more other repair vehicles are positioned adjacent the work site to provide workers with access to supplies and tools and to move approaching vehicles from the normal traffic flow. The pothole is cut out with a jackhammer or saw to solid pavement or base material. Debris is removed and the cavity is cleaned with brooms, shovels and high-pressure air. The interior of the cavity is coated with heated tack oil. Hot asphaltic paving material is shoveled into the cavity, properly apportioned, configured and compacted with hand tools, followed by compaction with a vibratory compactor or rolling machine. The exposed patch surface is finally coated with an asphalt sealer.
My invention simplifies these procedures while making them safer by providing a towable utility trailer having a rearward deck for transport and storage of supplies and equipment and a forward peripherally protected work area. The utility trailer has a tow bar assembly that forms a protective boundary around the forward portion of the work area immediately behind the towing vehicle. The utility trailer carries at its rearward portion an energy absorbing impact attenuator which is connected to the utility trailer by an expanding telephone type linkage. The utility trailer and the impact attenuator carry lighted traffic indicators to warn approaching motorists and direct vehicular traffic around the worksite. My invention overcomes various of the disadvantages of the prior art by providing a utility trailer and safety barrier that protect workers while promoting efficiency by maintaining necessary tools and equipment available to workers, by being easily movable by a dump truck with a small work crew and by allowing utilization of ordinary equipment readily available to road repair crews.
My invention does not reside in any one of the foregoing features individually but rather in the synergistic combination of all of its structures which necessarily give rise to the functions flowing therefrom as hereinafter claimed.